“Thus in a pageant-show a plot is made;
And peace itself is war in masquerade.”
Pt. I, lines 750–751.
Absalom and Achitophel (1681)
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John Dryden 196
English poet and playwright of the XVIIth century 1631–1700Related quotes

"Nobel peace prize Dmitry Muratov: Propaganda is war itself" https://voxeurop.eu/en/nobel-peace-prize-dmitry-muratov-propaganda-is-war-itself/, Vox Europ, 3 May 2022

“Immediately is the soul made at one with God when it is truly set at peace in itself.”
Summations, Chapter 49

“The Chinese once made war upon us, but were reduced to seek peace.”
To King Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah as quoted in book History of the political and military transactions in India during the administration of the Marquess of Hastings, 1813–1823, Vol 1 https://books.google.com/books?id=Tq1jAAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s|
Context: Through the influence of your good fortune, and that of your ancestors, no one has yet been able to cope with the state of Nepal. The Chinese once made war upon us, but were reduced to seek peace. How then will the English be able to penetrate into the hills? Under your auspices, we shall by our own exertions be able to oppose to them a force of fifty-two lakhs of men, with which we will expel them. The small fort of Bhurtpoor was the work of man, yet the English being worsted before it, desisted from the attempt to conquer it; our hills and fastnesses are formed by the hand of God, and are impregnable. I therefore recommend the prosecution of hostilities. We can make peace afterwards on such terms as may suit our convenience.
"A Fun-House Mirror" (1972), pp. 107-108
The Good Word & Other Words (1978)

“In peace, prepare for war. In war, prepare for peace.”
Sometimes erroneously prepended to the opening line "The art of war is of vital importance to the State", but appears to be a variation of the Roman motto "Si vis pacem, para bellum". It's not clear who first misattributed this phrase to Sun Tzu. The earliest appearance of the phrase in Google Books is 1920, when it appeared in a pharmaceutical journal, but no attribution was given then.
Misattributed

Source: Songs of the Soul (1971)
Context: War forgets peace. Peace forgives war. War is the death of the life human. Peace is the birth of the Life Divine. Our vital passions want war. Our psychic emotions desire peace.